“Superior Virtue is Like Water, and water benefits all things without contention.”
Zhu Yu’s voice echoed in the cave.
The wooden sword in his hand drew a soft arc.
The water droplets condensed at the tip of the sword were crystal clear under the firelight, yet they never fell.
“Superior Virtue is Like Water.”
It was a sword art cultivation method gifted by the system.
Its sword intent was like a spring stream thawing, emphasizing the “transformation” character.
Su Jinxue sat cross-legged opposite the bonfire, her small hands tightly gripping her broken sword.
Her brows furrowed tighter and tighter.
It had been three days.
Her Master kept repeating the same few phrases.
Things like “softness overcomes hardness” and “using softness to transform the sword” made her ears ring.
A sword was a weapon.
Why learn this “softness”?
“Master.” She finally couldn't help but speak, flames flickering in her ice-blue eyes,
“Can you… teach, teach something practical?”
“Oh?”
Zhu Yu retracted his sword stance, and the water droplets remained steadily on the sword.
“What practical things do you want to learn?”
“Things that can kill demons!”
Su Jinxue sprang up.
She swung her broken sword fiercely through the air, producing a whooshing sound.
“Like this! Clean and decisive!”
Zhu Yu watched her quietly.
The firelight cast dancing shadows on the young girl’s thin face.
Flames of hatred burned in those eyes that should have been clear.
A child of about ten should not have such an expression in her eyes.
“A sword is not a weapon of destruction.”
He gently instructed.
“If the heart is prejudiced, the sword will surely fall into evil.”
“Your disciple doesn’t care!”
Su Jinxue’s voice suddenly rose.
She didn't care about good or evil.
She only wanted revenge!
“I want revenge! Those… those demons… those demons…”
She choked up.
Her small hands clutched the broken sword tightly, her knuckles turning white.
What a strong obsession…
This won't do.
Zhu Yu sighed, put down his wooden sword, walked over to her, and squatted down:
“Child, hatred will blind your eyes.”
“A Sword Cultivator wielding a sword, their heart should be like still water and a clear mirror.”
“But, but my parents and them…”
Su Jinxue bit her lip, holding back her tears.
“And everyone in Shuo Province… they… they died so terribly…!”
Zhu Yu looked at her steadily, then suddenly stood up and walked towards the cave entrance.
“Come with your Master.”
Su Jinxue paused, then followed him with her broken sword.
Outside the cave, the wind and snow had stopped.
The accumulated snow reflected the sunlight, gilding the entire mountain range.
Zhu Yu stood in the center of the snow, his robes flapping in the cold wind.
“Watch carefully.”
He gently flicked the wooden sword in his hand, and a drop of water condensed at the tip fell onto the snow.
The sword rose!
A clear sword cry echoed, and the accumulated snow within a hundred zhang radius trembled with it.
Tiny snowflakes rose into the air, as if guided by an invisible hand, sparkling with broken silver light in the sun.
Su Jinxue looked up.
She saw the flying snow transform into a magnificent river of snow, swirling in the air, like a celestial river inverted!
“Ma… Master… Is this…?”
“Hundred Rivers Return to the Sea, the third realm of Superior Virtue is Like Water.”
Zhu Yu retracted his sword stance, and the river of snow poured down.
But it silently dissipated before reaching the ground, returning to the earth.
The sword fell, the wind ceased.
Su Jinxue stood frozen in place, unable to recover for a long time.
Zhu Yu stood with his hands behind his back, appearing like a profound master:
“What, do you still think ‘Superior Virtue is Like Water’ is useless?”
He glanced sideways, the young girl stood in the snow, her small face flushed red from the cold wind.
“Your disciple… understands…”
Her voice was very soft, as light as sunlight falling on the snow.
Zhu Yu turned to look at her, the young girl had her eyelashes lowered, looking extremely obedient.
“Very good, go back and continue cultivating.”
This child, did she really understand?
…
Five days later, in the early morning.
Zhu Yu got dressed and glanced at his little disciple who was still sound asleep.
Su Jinxue was curled up in a wolf fur cloak, only half of her fair little face exposed, her breathing even and long.
These past few days, she had been diligently following his instructions, cultivating the first stage of “Superior Virtue is Like Water”—Trickling Stream Reflecting the Moon.
It seemed she had corrected her impatient mindset.
But Zhu Yu always felt uneasy.
He had a premonition that she was going to pull something off.
“Ah, forget it, I’d better go outside and catch a pheasant first…”
Zhu Yu murmured softly and walked out of the cave to find today’s breakfast.
After his footsteps faded away.
Those ice-blue eyes suddenly opened.
Su Jinxue scrambled up.
After that argument, she outwardly obeyed Zhu Yu.
However, every day when Zhu Yu went out hunting, she secretly tried various methods to accelerate her cultivation.
The tragic scene of the demons slaughtering the city haunted her dreams every night.
Her parents’ dying cries still echoed in her ears.
She couldn't wait for this slow, water-like cultivation method.
“Too slow…”
She bit her lip, her fingers tracing her spine.
It felt faintly hot there; her Sword Bone was restless.
The sun was bright outside the cave.
Su Jinxue sat cross-legged on a flat rock, her wooden sword resting across her lap.
She closed her eyes and focused.
Recalling the flow of spiritual energy when her Master demonstrated “Hundred Rivers Return to the Sea.”
“What if… this way…”
She secretly altered the circulation path of the cultivation method, forcefully compressing the spiritual energy that was originally flowing gently.
A tearing pain immediately shot through her meridians, but she gritted her teeth tightly.
The temperature at her spine grew higher and higher, and spiderweb-like silver-white patterns appeared under her skin.
“Faster…”
Only this way… could she become stronger faster…
The wooden sword began to tremble.
Centered on her.
The surrounding airflow, pulled by the overflowing spiritual energy, formed chaotic vortices in the air.
“Cough!”
A sharp pain exploded from her spine!
Su Jinxue spat out a mouthful of blood.
She felt something sharp drilling out from inside her body.
As if it wanted to split her bones.
Cold sweat instantly drenched her clothes, and her vision swam.
She curled up into a ball, the wooden sword falling to the side.
The spiritual energy within her body completely ran wild, like thousands of ice needles crashing through her meridians.
Her vision gradually darkened.
In a blur, she saw a figure rushing towards her.
“Ma… Master…”
“Nonsense!”
Zhu Yu threw down his prey and immediately pointed his fingers at the vital acupoint on her back.
A wisp of green sword energy entered, suppressing the rampaging spiritual energy in her meridians.
“Ma… Master…”
Su Jinxue struggled to lift her head, her small face as pale as paper,
“I’m sorry…”
She had barely uttered two words when blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.
The light in her eyes rapidly dimmed, and her body softly slumped forward.
Zhu Yu caught her, his palm pressed against her back.
Pure spiritual energy continuously surged in, maintaining her meridians that were on the verge of collapse.
Wherever he touched, it felt as if countless ice needles were moving under her skin, piercing her muscle tissue into a thousand holes.
“Bear with it!”
Zhu Yu’s expression was extremely grim.
He had been careless, not expecting this fearless child to dare to change her qi circulation path on her own!
He saw Su Jinxue’s eyes dim and sharply shouted:
“Don’t sleep! Concentrate, follow my spiritual energy!”
This sharp shout awakened some of her consciousness.
Su Jinxue endured the severe pain, trying her best to cooperate with Zhu Yu’s guidance.
After an unknown period, the rampant spiritual energy was finally tamed, slowly returning to her dantian.
Zhu Yu let out a long sigh of relief, only then realizing that his back was soaked.
He looked down at the little disciple in his arms.
She had fallen unconscious, but her breathing was even, and her pulse was gradually stabilizing.
“She’s really a handful…”
Zhu Yu sighed softly, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth with his sleeve.
He gently placed Su Jinxue back on the wolf fur and added a few more logs to the fire.
“It seems I need to adjust the teaching plan.” Zhu Yu stroked his chin, lost in thought, “This child is too headstrong, I need to keep a close eye on her…”